A Little Romance
by CoffeeDrinker
Summary: Lorelai and Luke, post-finale. Luke surprises Lorelai with a romantic evening.


**Author's Note:** L/L fluff. This takes place a few months after the series finale. They're both all in, they're happy, they're living together. Luke surprises Lorelai with a romantic evening.

**A Little Romance**

After yet another late night at work, Lorelai arrived home just after ten. The house was dark, except for the hall light that Luke had left on for her. She locked the front door behind her and set her purse on the hallway table.

She quietly made her way up the stairs and tiptoed into the bedroom. Even though Luke was a heavy sleeper, she always tried to be as quiet as possible. She stopped at the edge of the bed, gazing at him sleeping peacefully on his back. She hated working late... she hated coming home to a dark, quiet house... but she loved crawling into bed next to him. It made her feel safe... it made her happy. She smiled to herself as she headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

/ / /

The next morning, Lorelai stirred when she felt Luke get up for work at 5 a.m. He noticed her waking up, and apologetically whispered, "Sorry...go back to sleep..."

Lorelai opened her eyes and groggily squinted up at him. "Hi..."

"Hey." Luke walked over to her side of the bed and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "What time did you get home?"

Lorelai yawned as she rubbed her eyes. "After ten. You were out cold... you didn't even wake up when I took advantage of you... "

Luke smiled. "I'm sure I enjoyed it. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in a few hours at the diner?"

Lorelai nodded and snuggled back up against her pillow.

/ / /

Later that morning at the diner, Luke walked out of the kitchen and delivered a plate of pancakes to the table by the door, then returned to the counter where Liz was eating her breakfast.

"Excellent omelet, big brother," Liz complimented.

"Glad to hear it," Luke replied as he wiped the counter next to her.

The diner door opened and Lorelai rushed to the counter, announcing, "Coffee to go, and pour it at warp speed, I have to be at the inn in like 14 seconds." Lorelai greeted Liz hello, and then drummed her hands on the counter as she urged Luke, "Come on, warp speed!"

"I don't think you're gonna make it," Luke said as he poured coffee into a to-go cup.

Lorelai frowned. "Come on, I need support and positivity here... it's the only way to help me avoid falling into a deep pit of despair because of all the overworkage I've been doing."

Luke handed her the coffee. Lorelai took a long sip and sighed happily. "Mm, that's good."

"Another late night tonight?" Luke asked.

Lorelai frowned and nodded. "Yup...I can't remember the last time I made it home while it was still light out. You okay dealing with Paul Anka again?"

"Got it covered," Luke assured her.

Lorelai smiled appreciatively and rubbed his arm. "Thank you. That's one less thing on my mind."

"When does Michel get back from vacation?" Luke asked.

"Saturday," Lorelai replied. "At which time I will inform him that he has used up all of his allotted vacation time for the rest of his career at the Dragonfly." Lorelai leaned toward Luke. "Gotta go... kiss goodbye..."

Luke leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."

Lorelai patted Liz on the shoulder. "Bye Liz... say hi to TJ and Doula for me."

"Will do, Lorelai," Liz replied, watching as Lorelai rushed out the door and headed toward her Jeep. Liz frowned at Luke. "She's got a lot going on, huh?"

Luke shrugged. "She's been working a lot...Michel's on vacation, and the nighttime manager has been out sick, so she's been pulling triple duty."

"You guys been seeing each other much?" Liz asked, concerned.

"Not much the past week or two," Luke replied. "Just a few minutes in the morning... then I'm usually asleep when she's been gettin' home."

"A few minutes in the morning?" Liz asked, shaking her head. "That's not enough...you guys are finally back in a groove, you don't wanna lose that."

Luke shrugged. "What can I do? She's working... she's busy. It'll calm down in a few days, then she'll get back to her normal routine."

Liz gasped excitedly. "Ooh, I know! You need to surprise her...something romantic... something unexpected."

Luke narrowed his eyes with confusion. "What? Why?"

Liz scoffed. "What do you mean, why? Because it's nice! Girls love a little unexpected dose of romance now and then! I bet she could really use it after the crazy weeks she's had, don't you think?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know...I guess so..."

Liz poked him in the chest. "Trust me, bro. Your girl is working her butt off, she's exhausted, she only sees you a few minutes at a time... you'd score major points if you planned a special romantic night for the two of you..."

Luke glanced around aimlessly, considering it. Romance wasn't really his thing, but he did like making Lorelai happy...

"I know it's outside of your box," Liz continued. "But you gotta get out of your comfort zone once in awhile. She knows you're not Don Juan, but don't you wanna show her how thoughtful and romantic you can be?"

Luke exhaled slowly. "Yeah, but..."

"And I'll help you! That's what little sisters are for."

Luke eyed her warily, but reluctantly nodded. "Okay..."

"Huzzah!" Liz exclaimed, clapping her hands. "Got any ideas?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know... I could bring her dinner at the inn?"

Liz shook her head and raised her hands up. "Think bigger... go all out...something different..."

Luke sighed. "I'll think some more..."

/ / /

A few days later, Lorelai walked into the diner, sat down at the counter, and greeted Luke with a kiss.

Luke smiled as he poured her a cup of coffee. "You actually have time to sit down before heading to the inn... that's a good sign that things are getting back to normal."

Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I even have time for a nice hearty breakfast to start this most glorious of Saturdays. Eggs, pancakes and bacon, please."

"The glorious day of Michel's return, huh?"

Lorelai nodded. "Finally! I'm gonna go in, catch him up on things, work a few hours, and then hopefully get out of there by two or three for some much needed relaxation time."

"Two or three," Luke repeated, glancing at his watch. "Okay... that works."

Lorelai eyed him suspiciously. "Works for what?"

"Just don't make any plans for tonight," Luke said. "I've got something in mind for us to do."

Lorelai raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh yeah?"

Luke smirked. "Not that." He thought for a moment, then added, "Well, maybe we'll squeeze that in, too."

Lorelai smiled and rubbed her hands together excitedly. "So what's the plan?"

"It's a surprise."

Lorelai frowned. "Aww. No hints?"

Luke shook his head. "No hints. You'll find out later. "

/ / /

When Lorelai arrived home from work that afternoon, she headed upstairs to change out of her work clothes to take Paul Anka on his walk.

When she reached the bedroom, she found lying along the foot of the bed a beautiful black halter dress... one she had never seen before. It had a deep V-neck and decorative beading along the waist that sparkled when the light hit it. "Where did you come from?" Lorelai muttered as she picked up the dress and ran her finger along the beading.

Next to the dress was a note. She picked it up and smiled as she read Luke's handwriting..."_We're going out... Put this on, wear your hair up, and be ready by 6."_

Lorelai picked up the phone and dialed the diner. After a few rings, Luke answered, "Luke's."

"Um, who are you and what have you done with Luke?" Lorelai asked.

Luke smiled. "You got my note?"

"And this absolutely beautiful dress," Lorelai gushed. "What is this? What's going on?"

"I'm taking you out tonight," he replied. "Be ready by six-sharp."

"Luke, tell me more!" Lorelai whined. "Where are we going?"

"You'll find out later... I'll see you at six-sharp," he replied, and then hung up the phone.

/ / /

Luke got dressed for the date at the diner apartment so he would be ready to go when he picked up Lorelai at home. In his black slacks and grey button-down shirt, he walked into the house just before six, calling, "Lorelai?"

"You're early!" she called from upstairs. "I have six minutes!"

Luke climbed the staircase and walked into the bedroom. He found her in front of the mirror, wearing the black dress, her straightened hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. "Wow... you look beautiful..."

Lorelai smiled. "Thank you. You look nice, too." She walked over to him, pressing her lips to his for a deep kiss. She pulled back and gestured to the dress. "Where did you get this?"

"I bought it yesterday," Luke replied. "You like it?"

Lorelai grinned. "I love it! You really picked this out? Luke Danes went to the mall all by himself and picked out a dress?"

"Well, Liz came with me," Luke admitted, then proudly added, "But I'm the one that picked it out..."

Lorelai smiled and smoothed the front of the dress. "You did great. I can't believe you bought me a dress." She shook her head slightly, still surprised at the gesture. "Thank you..."

"You're welcome..."

Lorelai rested her hands on his shoulders and stroked the back of his neck. "So, what exactly inspired this random romantic gesture?"

Luke brought his hands to her waist. "Well, you've been working really hard the past few weeks... thought it would be nice to surprise you with a night out."

Lorelai cocked her head to the side as she smiled adoringly at him. "That is incredibly sweet." She kissed him. "I'm already forgetting what a hellish few weeks it's been..."

"Good." He glanced at the clock. "We gotta go... you ready?"

"Where are we going?" Lorelai patted his shoulders excitedly. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"It's a surprise," Luke replied. "And bring a sweater."

Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "Are we going somewhere cold? Ooh, is it Alaska?"

Luke walked out the bedroom, calling, "It's a surprise... let's go..."

Lorelai grabbed a sweater and hurried after him, calling, "And why does my hair need to be up? Does this evening involve vampires feasting on my neck?"

/ / /

Later that evening, as Luke pulled the truck into the parking lot of the boat marina, Lorelai excitedly asked, "Are we going out on the water?"

"We are," Luke confirmed. "First, dinner at the marina restaurant, then we'll take the boat out to watch the sunset..."

Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, that's amazing!"

"No big deal." Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "Figured it'd be nice to do something different..."

"It's a very big deal," Lorelai insisted, taking his hand into hers. "Thank you for doing this. You're incredible."

"You're welcome." Luke kissed her, then got out of the truck and walked over to open her door. She climbed out and shut the door, then took his hand as they walked toward the restaurant.

/ / /

After dinner, Luke stopped at the truck to get a duffel bag and a cooler, then they walked down the dock to his boat. Lorelai felt the breeze from the water and said, "Ah, so this is why we want the hair up..."

Luke smiled. "It was Liz's suggestion. She said boats don't usually make for good hair situations."

"Remind me to thank her."

When they reached the boat, Luke climbed on board and then held out his hand for Lorelai to help her on. Lorelai sat down on one of the white cushioned bench seats along the edge of the boat, staring out onto the beautiful water. She smiled up at him. "I love this, Luke... this is so cool..."

"Let's get out there before we miss that sunset..." Luke took a few minutes preparing the boat to leave, then pulled it out of the marina and headed away from the shoreline. Lorelai walked over to him at the wheel and hugged him from behind, resting her head against his back as she held him tightly.

A few minutes later, he anchored in a quiet spot in the open water, and they sat down together on the bench seat on the side of the boat. Luke pulled a blanket from his duffel bag and spread it across their laps, then pulled out a thermos.

"Coffee?" he asked as he unscrewed the lid.

Lorelai smiled. "Look at you... you thought of everything."

"Yup. Hopefully it's still warm." He poured some into the lid of the thermos and handed it to her.

Lorelai took a sip, then smiled and nodded. "Still warm...tastes great. What's in there?" She pointed to the cooler.

Luke reached into the cooler and pulled out a beer for himself. He twisted off the lid, tossed it into the cooler, then leaned back against the seat and put an arm around her. She snuggled up against him and sipped her coffee.

"This is really romantic," Lorelai whispered.

"Yeah, well... I'm trying to be better at that stuff," Luke said. "You know... for you..."

Lorelai smiled as she ran her hand up and down his arm. "Well, I'm having an amazing time, but I don't want you to think you have to try to be someone else for me... you know that, right?"

"I know, but... I mean, it won't kill me to try a little more," Luke said with a shrug. "Especially when it's something that makes you happy."

Lorelai smiled. "Well, if you want to, I won't complain. But you still make me very happy even if you're not Mr. Romance all the time."

Luke kissed her. "Good."

They sipped their drinks and watched the summer sky as the sun began to set. Once it was out of sight, they smiled at each other. "That was awesome," Lorelai said. "Really... this was perfect..."

She placed her empty coffee cup in the cooler, then stood up and walked to the other side of the boat, leaning over the railing to look out into the calm water surrounding them.

Luke leaned back against his seat and sipped his beer, not taking his eyes off of her, paying close attention to her toned legs accentuated by her black high heels, and the skirt of her dress blowing gently in the sea breeze.

"This view is amazing," Lorelai said.

"View ain't so bad from back here either," Luke replied.

Lorelai smiled and turned around, resting her hands on the boat railing behind her. "You flirting with me, Captain?"

"Maybe..." Luke took a final swig of his beer and put the empty bottle in the cooler.

"You know, I should probably tell you," Lorelai said, "... that since you didn't specify which underwear I should put on with the dress, I decided to forgo them altogether."

Luke exhaled slowly and shifted in his seat. "Geez, Lorelai..."

"You wanna see?" Lorelai asked with a seductive smirk. Her hands went to the bottom hem of her dress. She pulled it upwards, giving him a quick flash of her bare lower half before dropping the dress back down.

"Come here..." Luke said, beckoning her toward him and patting his leg.

Lorelai strutted across the boat and climbed on top of him, straddling one of his legs. His hands immediately went under her dress, sliding up her thighs, gliding across her waist, finally coming to rest on her bottom. He squeezed her cheeks as he pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. She ran her hands through his hair as she kissed him back hungrily, groaning slightly as she grinded herself against his leg.

As his lips moved down to her neck, Lorelai looked up toward the sky, letting out a breathless, "Luke?"

"Hm?" Luke muttered as he kissed down to her chest.

"Let's go inside..." Lorelai climbed off of him and held out her hand. Luke took hold of it and followed her into the sleeping area in the cabin of the boat.

/ / /

Later that evening, Lorelai walked out of the boat's bathroom and climbed back into the bed with Luke. She cuddled up against him, locking her lips with his as she stroked his chest. She smiled through the kiss, ran her hand over his cheek and whispered, "Thank you for an amazing night."

"You're welcome," he whispered back.

"Gotta say, I'm a big fan of boat sex," Lorelai commented. "We should do it again sometime."

Luke smirked. "Agreed."

"We should start a new quest to have sex on all forms of transportation," Lorelai said. "Airplane, train, bus, golf cart, horse and buggy... "

"Bicycle?"

Lorelai smiled. "That could be dangerous. We'd have to wear helmets." She leaned her head against his chest. "I guess we have to get dressed and get back to the marina..."

"Yup."

Lorelai got up, retrieved her dress from the floor, and started pulling it on as Luke watched her from the bed. He noticed how happy she looked, and he loved being the reason for it, loved that he had given her this amazing night that made her feel special. This romance thing wasn't so bad, he thought.

Once she was dressed, she gathered his clothes and tossed them to him on the bed. "You coming?"

Luke nodded and sat up, then held out his hand toward her. She took it, and he gently pulled her down onto the bed next to him. He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her softly. "I love you."

Lorelai smiled. "I love you, too."

Luke kissed her again and fell back against the pillow, pulling her down with him. He kissed her neck as his hands roamed her body over her dress. He kissed up to ear and whispered, "One more round before we go?"

Lorelai smiled. She pushed herself up off of him, took her dress off, and re-joined him on the bed. "Aye aye, Captain..."

**The End**

Reviews are appreciated! :)


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